TRA 02 - Proximity to Amenities

Amenities – Access to cash - KBCN0359

An ATM inside a building would be acceptable provided that its opening hours are similar to those of the assessed building, regardless of whether there is a nominal charge for the service. Cash-back from the till in a retail outlet is not compliant. Access to cash should be available to the building users at all relevant times of the day. This should not require a prior purchase of goods and should provide access to other services, such as checking account balances.

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Amenities – Assessed building is one of the listed amenities - KBCN0264

Where the assessed building is itself included in the list of amenities, that particular amenity criterion can be deemed to be met, e.g. a supermarket development itself meets the proximity to food outlet required for a Retail type building.

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Amenities – Pharmacy within a hospital or health centre - KBCN0321

To meet the requirements of 'Over the counter services associated with a pharmacy', a dispensary within a health centre or hospital can be considered as meeting the intent, provided it is publicly accessible and also offers the type of over-the-counter services associated with a stand-alone pharmacy, such as non-prescription medication and health products. Note: This is a change to the approach outlined in the previous KBCN wording, therefore, for assessments registered before this update, where it can be demonstrated that the the assessor has advised the project team based on the previous wording, this can be accepted: Superseded guidance: A publicly accessible pharmacy would typically be required in order to constitute a suitable amenity. If it can be confirmed that an internal pharmacy (in Northern Ireland this may also include an onsite controlled medical dispensary) will provide prescribed medicines for building users, this is acceptable.

18 June 2025 - Title updated and wording amended to clarify the intent. Applied to NC V6 standards.

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Amenities – Sandwich van as a food outlet - KBCN0557

A food truck/ mobile catering service would not be sufficient to meet the criteria for this issue. The aim of this Issue is to assess the location of the built asset relative to amenities.

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Amenities – Vending machine as a food outlet - KBCN0653

A vending machine can be considered as a food outlet if a range of items, as can be reasonably expected, are for sale to meet the needs of the building users and it is confirmed to be a permanent fixture.

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Campus or campus-type developments – Entrance to consider - KBCN1726

The main entrance to a campus, e.g. an education site, industrial or business park, can be used to determine the distance to amenities, if 80% or more of the buildings are within 1000m of this entrance. If the site has more than one main entrance, either entrance can be used for the calculation. Where less than 80% of the buildings are within 1000m of the campus' main entrance, the assessed building’s main entrance must be used to determine the distance to compliant nodes. This aims to encourage the location of public transport nodes inside or on the periphery of the campus.

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Safe pedestrian routes – Definition, measurement and verification - KBCN0238

Definition Safe pedestrian routes include pavements and safe crossing points, which may be controlled or, for example, be identified by tactile paving, a crossing island or a dropped kerb. An element of judgement may be required, in which case justification should be provided. Measurement Distances could be measured, for example, along a pavement, across a road at a safe crossing point and along the pavement on the other side.  The distance should not be measured diagonally across a road, following the most direct route. Verification The assessor’s site inspection is an important aspect of the assessment and may help to confirm that all relevant information is current and can include photographs of any key areas. This can also help to identify safe crossing points or hazards which may not be apparent from a desktop study. However, web-based evidence may also be used where the assessor is satisfied that it is robust and demonstrates that it is up to date. Where web-based navigation maps (e.g. Google Maps/Street View) are used as supporting evidence, this must include: • Dated and marked-up site plan or a web-based navigation map viewer highlighting: • Current location and type of transport nodes and local amenities. • Current route and distance from the building via a safe pedestrian route. • Plan or map scale. When using web-based evidence for post-construction stage, the assessor must, additionally, provide verification that the information provided for the nodes/amenities is still accurate and up to date.  

29 Aug 2025 - Approach to web-based map data at post-construction stage updated and related wording amended accordingly
07 Mar 2024 - No changes have been made. This appears as 'updated' due to an administrative error.
11 Jan 2024 - Wording re-structured for clarity
19 Dec 2023 - Applicability to BIU V6 confirmed

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